A stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese that is versatile, easy, and fun to make! Top on pizza, use as a dip, layer in your lasagna, or make a fabulous grilled cheese!
One of the things I missed most when I became vegan was pizza and grilled cheese!
The store bought cheeses I found were full of added preservatives and ingredients I had never heard of, and couldn’t pronounce! They also tasted artificial and had a strange texture.
Even though I’m vegan, the rest of my family is not, and the kids and husband love pizza!
On Friday nights, it was a no brainer. The kids and the husband ordered delivery pizza, and I ate leftovers.
Well, no more! Now we can all enjoy pizza on pizza night! I’ve even convinced my family to give my pizza a try, and they were pretty pleased with the results!
It’s all thanks to this amazingly easy stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese!
This cheese isn’t just great on pizza. Its uses are endless! When I have some leftover cheese, I use it to make vegan grilled cheese sandwiches!
They come out so stretchy and delicious! It’s a new lunch favorite with the kids!
This vegan mozzarella cheese is one of my basic vegan recipes.
Why you’ll love this stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese…
- Super quick and easy to make.
- Only requires a few pantry ingredients.
- Super stretchy and ooey-gooey!
- Great on pizzas, sandwiches, toasted bread, lasagna, enchiladas, or anywhere you desire a nice stretchy cheese like consistency.
Recipe Ingredients and Notes
Raw Cashews: Like many vegan cheese recipes, this one starts with raw cashews that you will need to boil or soak. If you’re in a hurry, I recommend boiling your cashews for 10 minutes.
Nutritional Yeast: This is what gives the cheese its umami flavor. It’s used in many vegan cheese and cream based sauces.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Adds a touch of acidity to the recipe.
Tapioca Starch: This is what gives the cheese its stretchy consistency. Tapioca starch is made from the root of the cassava plant. Sometimes called tapioca flour. This ingredient is necessary to achieve the stretchy cheese like consistency!
Spices: A combination of salt, and garlic powder is all you need!
Tools and Equipment
High Speed Blender: A high speed blender is important to use so that you can get the cashews completely combined and smooth for the cheese. If you don’t have a high speed blender, be sure to soak the cashews for 4 hours or longer.
Medium Sauté Pan: You’ll need to heat the cashew liquid in a pan on medium-high heat. It will begin to clump and become solid and chewy.
How to Make Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella – Step by Step
Step 1: Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add cashews and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse.
Step 2: Combine cashews, fresh water, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, tapioca starch, salt, and garlic powder. Blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides with your spatula. It will be liquid in texture. That is normal.
Step 3: Pour the cashew liquid into a pan on medium heat. Stir with a spatula continuously.
Step 4: At first the consistency will be liquid, but as you stir and the cashew liquid heats, it will begin to create clumps.
Continue to stir until the mixture thickens and creates a gooey and stretchy texture. Use right away for best results!
Top Tips for Making Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- Make sure you soak your cashews for at least 4 hours if you don’t have a high speed blender.
- If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can also grind your cashews raw (not soaked) in a coffee grinder. This will help them get to a fine texture.
- Heat the liquid over medium heat. You don’t want the pan to get too hot, and burn the cheese!
Recipe FAQS
Homemade vegan mozzarella is made with cashews, water, spices, and tapioca flour. The tapioca flour when heated is what causes the liquid to turn into a solid gooey cheese like consistency.
Yes, you can buy vegan mozzarella shreds. There are several brands available now. Daiya, Miyokos, Violife, Go Veggie, Trader Joe’s, and So Delicious, are a few of the brands offering store bought versions.
It is always my preference to make my own homemade vegan cheese substitutes. They simply taste better, in my opinion, and are also free of added preservatives and ingredients.
However, if you want to find a store bought brand, I recommend the Daiya Cutting Board Collection mozzarella shreds. It melts nicely, making it perfect for pizza! It also has a decent flavor, and doesn’t have that sticky texture. It’s lower in sodium than some brands, has fewer calories, and more calcium.
I have to tell you that it does not have the exact same flavor as mozzarella, but it comes pretty close! It’s got a bit of saltiness, as well as that umami flavor we all love! It’s stretchy and melts, nicely. it also browns and bubbles when placed in the oven.
How to Store and Keep
Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. It will thicken as it cools. So if you want a spreadable cheese, I recommend preparing and using it just before you’re ready to serve!
Ways to Serve
Pizza and Flatbread: This cheese works great for pizzas and flatbreads! It’s not a shreddable cheese, so you have to be a bit careful about how you spread it on your pizza. I recommend adding small spoonfuls over the top, and gently pressing down to smooth it out. Bake in your oven to melt the top and bake the crust.
Cheesy Bread: Spread onto your favorite bread, and pop in the oven to melt and bring the cheese to a nice golden brown.
Lasagna and Other Italian Dishes: This cheese tastes great layered between sheets of pasta, or added as a cheesy topping.
Grilled Cheese: Spread on one side of the bread, use vegan butter on each side, and grill for about 2-3 minutes per side.
Check out these other vegan basic recipes!
- Béchamel (Vegan White Sauce)
- Vegan Caramel Sauce
- Cashew Sour Cream (Vegan)
- Vegan Buffalo Sauce
- Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- Vegan Cheese Sauce (with Cashews)
- Nacho Cheese Sauce (Vegan/No Nuts)
Recipe
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (Stretchy)
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add cashews. Allow to boil in the water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse.
- Add cashews, fresh water, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, tapioca starch, salt, and garlic powder to your blender. Blend until smooth. It will be liquid in texture. That is normal.
- Pour the cashew liquid into a pan on medium heat. Stir with a spatula. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens and creates an gooey and stretchy texture.
- At first the consistency will be liquid, but as you stir and it heats, it will begin to create clumps. Stir continuously until it becomes thick, and gooey in texture. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Use the cheese right away, or store in the refrigerator. As it cools it will become thicker in texture. If you want to use it to spread on something such as pizza, it's easiest to use immediately.
Video
Notes
- Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for 3-4 days.
- To use on pizza add dollops on top of the sauce and gently push down.
- For lasagna, add on the top and bake.
- For grilled cheese, spread on one side of the bread, use vegan butter on each side, and grill fro about 2-3 minutes per side.
Nutrition
Kechi
Thanks for sharing this vegan cheese recipe, am definitely going to try it. I am not vegan but I love all the ingredients you used! And that grilled cheese sandwich looks yummy~
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
My daughter has an issue with dairy, but really misses pizza night too. I’m going to make this for her as a surprise! She’ll be so excited! Thank you!
Sara Welch
Such a great alternative to traditional mozzarella! Enjoyed this for lunch this afternoon and it did not disappoint! Easy, creamy and delicious!
Beth
Yum! I’m dairy intolerant so this is perfect for me. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks.
Beth
Yummy! My son is going to love this recipe! Can’t wait to give this a try! So excited!